What the market is

First-half result is the three-way market — home, draw or away — settled on the score at half-time, including first-half stoppage time. The second half has no effect: a side that leads 1-0 at the break and loses 1-3 still wins this bet for anyone who backed it at half-time.

It is a separate market from the full-time result and is priced on its own.

How the selection on this page is made

Each fixture shows the outcome bookmakers rate most likely at half-time, taken from real first-half result prices with the margin removed. Fixtures without that price do not appear, and nothing is calculated from a formula.

A half-time draw is the most common outcome in a large share of matches, because forty-five minutes is often not long enough for the better side to break through. Expect many draw selections here; that reflects the market rather than a choice on our part.

Reading the numbers

Even the most likely first-half outcome usually sits around forty to fifty per cent. Prices are therefore longer than for the full-time favourite, and runs of losing selections are part of the market.

Strong home sides against weak visitors are the main exception, where leading at the interval becomes the most likely outcome.

When it is worth considering

When you expect a quick start from one side, or a cautious, level opening from both. If your view is about how the match ends, the match result page is the direct expression of it.

For a view on the whole match path, half-time / full-time combines this market with the final result.

Common mistakes

Backing the full-time favourite to lead at half-time at a short price. Many favourites win after a level first half.

Overlooking the first-half goal lines. If your view is simply that a goal will come before the break, 1st half over 0.5 expresses it without needing to name the side that scores.

Treating half-time draws as wasted information. They are the most common result of the opening period in many leagues.

Why the half-time draw is so common

Most matches produce two or three goals, and those goals are not spread evenly. The second half is usually busier: legs tire, substitutes change the shape, and a side that is behind has to take risks. That leaves a large share of first halves either goalless or with one goal that is soon answered.

In many leagues a level score at half-time is more likely than either side being in front. Even in fixtures with a clear favourite, the draw can be the single most likely half-time outcome while the favourite is still the most likely winner at full-time. Both statements are true at once, and this page and the match result page can show them side by side for the same match.

That is not a weakness in the selection. It is an accurate picture of how the opening forty-five minutes usually goes.

When a side to lead is the pick

A half-time lead becomes the most likely outcome only in clear mismatches: a strong home side against a weak visitor, or a top side with a habit of scoring early. When this page names a side rather than the draw, the bookmakers' prices say that side is more likely than not to be ahead or level at the break, with ahead the single most likely state.

Prices for those selections are short and the margin for error is small. One well-organised first half from the underdog is enough to lose the bet, even if the favourite goes on to win comfortably. If that is your view, the half-time / full-time page lets you see how likely the favourite is to lead at both points.

How this page is kept honest

Selections come from real first-half result prices recorded once before kick-off. Nothing on this page is calculated from a formula, and a fixture with no price is left out. The methodology page has the details.